FAT RICH DAIRY PRODUCTS

Module 11. Ghee and butteroil

Lesson 34
GHEE DEFINITION, STANDARDS AND COMPOSITION

34.1 Introduction

At present, about 28% of the total milk production is utilized for the manufacture of about one million ton of ghee per annum. Ghee is a product of tradition with an established market prepared at household level, also at organized dairy plants. Ghee manufacture has great significance and relevance to Indian masses and the dairy industry there is sufficient recorded evidence to prove that the manufacture of ghee originated in India and it has been used extensively for dietary and religious purposes since Vedic times (3000-2000 B.C).

34.2 Necessity for Production of Ghee

India is a tropical country with wider variations in ambient temperature from region to region and from season to season. It is very difficult provide a cold chain to protect perishable products like milk and butter for longer time, also this exercise involves additional investment and expenditure. Thus simple, convenient and affordable process to preserve milk fat would favor the milk producers and processors to a greater extent.

Whenever milk left with producer, they experience great difficulty to preserve it, with available resources with them conversion of ghee to malai and then from malai to ghee was found to be the only affordable and convenient way to preserve milk fat at ambient temperature at household level.

● Ghee is a very popular product since from ancient time and have greater demand during festival and other ceremonial functions where use of ghee in food has been considered to delicacy due to its pleasing flavour and aroma.

● Best ways to salvage substandard and returned market milk at commercial dairy level is separation of fat from these and convert this fat to ghee.

● Ghee has a market demand of around one million ton per annum in India, to meet this huge demand and also involvement of simple technology to produce ghee attracts the milk processor to have ghee making plant of variable capacity.

34.3 Definition

According to FSSR-2011, ghee means the pure heat clarified fat derived solely from milk or curd or from desi (cooking) butter or from cream to which no colouring matter or preservative has been added.

Table 34.1 FSSR-2011 Standards for ghee state wise in India

Sl. No.	Name of the State / Union Territory	Butyro Refractometer reading at 400C	Min. Reichert Value	Percentage of
				FFA as oleic acid (max.)	Moisture (Max.)
1	Andhra Pradesh	40.0 to 43.0	24	3	0.5
2	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	40.0 to 43.0	24	3	0.5
3	Arunachal Pradesh	41.0 to 44.0	26	3	0.5
4	Assam	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
5	Bihar	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
6	Chandigarh	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
7	Chattisgarh	40.0 to 44.0	26	3	0.5
8	Dadra and Nagar haveli	40.0 to 43.0	24	3	0.5
9	Delhi	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
10	Goa	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
11	Daman & Diu	40.0 to 43.5	24	3	0.5
12	Gujarat
12a	Areas other than cotton tract areas	40.0 to 43.5	24	3	0.5
12b	Cotton tract areas	41.5 to 45.0	21	3	0.5
13	Haryana
13a	Areas other than cotton tract areas	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
13b	Cotton tract areas	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
14	Himachal Pradesh	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
15	Jammu & Kashmir	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
16	Jharkhand	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
17	Karnataka			3	0.5
17a	Areas other than Belgaum district	40.0 to 43.0	24	3	0.5
17b	Belgaum district	40.0 to 44.0	26	3	0.5
18	Kerala	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
19	Lakshwadeep	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
20	Madhya Pradesh
20a	Areas other than cotton tract areas	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
20b	Cotton tract areas	41.5 to 45.0	21	3	0.5
21	Maharashtra
21a	Areas other than cotton tract areas	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
21b	Cotton tract areas	41.5 to 45.0	21	3	0.5
22	Manipur	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
23	Meghalya	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
24	Mizoram	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
25	Nagaland	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
26	Orisssa	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
27	Pondicherry	40.0 to 44.0	26	3	0.5
28	Punjab	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
29	Rajasthan
29a	Areas other than Jodhpur District	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
29b	Jodhpur District	41.5 to 45.0	21	3	0.5
30	Tamil Nadu	41.0 to 44.0	24	3	0.5
31	Tripura	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
32	Uttar Pradesh	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
33	Uttarakhand	40.0 to 43.0	26	3	0.5
34	West Bengal
34a	Areas other than Bishnupur sub division	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5
34b	Bishnupur sub division	41.5 to 45.0	21	3	0.5
34	Sikkim	40.0 to 43.0	28	3	0.5

34.4 Product Description and Chemical Composition of Ghee

Ghee could be in liquid, semisolid and some time in solid state based on the storage temperature. Ghee made from buffalo milk is whitish with greenish tinge and that of cow milk is golden yellow colour. It is usually prepared form cow milk, buffalo milk or mixed milk.

Composition: Ghee is a complex lipid of glycerides (majorly triglycerides), free fatty acids, phospholipids, sterols, sterol esters, fat soluble vitamins, carbonyls, hydrocarbons, carotenoids, (only in ghee derived from cow milk). Its detailed chemical composition is given below.

Table 34.2 Chemical composition of ghee

Constituents	Cow milk ghee	Buffalo milk ghee
Fat (%)	99 – 99.5	99 – 99.5
Moisture (%)	<0.5	<0.5
Carotene(mg/g)	3.2-7.4	-
Vitamin A(IU/g)	19-34	17-38
Cholesterol (mg/100g)	302 – 362	209 – 312
Tocopherol(mg/g)	26 – 48	18 – 31
Free fatty acid (%)	2.8	2.8

Source: (R.P.Aneja et al., Technology of Indian milk products, Dairy India publication. Section 3.4: Fat rich dairy products, page 187.)

Milk fat contains at least 500 fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives with 4 – 20 or more carbon atoms in their chain. The fatty acid may saturated or unsaturated and usually contains an even number of carbon atoms. Composition of fatty acid also varies between buffalo milk fat and cow milk fat. Following table shows detailed composition of buffalo milk and cow milk fatty acid composition.

Table 34.3 Fatty acid composition of ghee

Fatty Acid (%)	Buffalo milk fat	Cow milk fat
Butyric	4.4	3.2
Caproic	1.5	2.1
Capric	1.3	2.6
Lauric	1.8	2.8
Myristic	10.8	11.9
Palmitic	33.1	30.6
Stearic	12.0	10.1
Oleic	27.2	27.4
Linoleic	1.5	1.5
Linolenic	0.5	0.6

Source: R.P.Aneja et al., Technology of Indian milk products, Dairy India publication. Section 3.4: Fat rich dairy products, page 186